Door catches

[Owlsman]

Hi guys - Try as I might I can't think of what purpose the door catches (see photo) actually serve.

I'm trying to improve the 'shut' of both front doors on my 4 x door saloon without a slam loud enough to wake the dead. I have made good progress by adjusting the 'toothed' door catch and also by slightly bending in the metal lip that the relatively newly fitted rubber seal fits on. What puzzles me though is the purpose of these other catches i.e. the ones where a stud on the door slots into the bracket with the hole on the B post.

If I remove the bit that attaches to the B post the door shuts quite nicely and can even be closed with a firm push or even leaning on the door from the outside so that it clicks onto the second tooth. As soon as I replace it - despite any amount of adjustment - the door gives a definite metal to metal clunky sound as I push it slowly in from the outside. The door cannot then be closed fully without a firm(ish) slam.

I have tried to look and feel around the catch from the inside and there appears to be plenty of leeway all around the stud part on the door. The stud also has its rubber washer fitted in the groove at the base. I just cannot see where the clunk sound is coming from.

Not that I'm seriously thinking of permanently removing the 'stud catches' as they must be there for a reason.....but the doors certainly close better without them. How can I get the front doors to shut with a click rather than a slam? ……….or am I being too optimistic in wanting them to close without a slam?

Thanks in advance of any top tips.

PS: The rear doors both close beautifully with just a couple of clicks but the mechanism it quite different i.e. without any studs.

[philthehill]

The items you show in your photos are there to keep the door horizontal and stop the door dropping on its hinges.
The front doors on a Minor are very heavy and prone to dropping at the rear and fouling on the door aperture frame the peg and bracket are there to help prevent door droop.
The rubber washer is there to help stop the pin rattling against the bracket.

I would say that you are being over optimistic in expecting a Morris Minor door to shut with a click. Whilst you should not have to slam the door you do have to use some pressure to close the door. Morris Minor door shutting is not anywhere like the door shutting process on a modern vehicle.

[pgp001]

That pin needs to be a good fit in the hole as well, otherwise they rattle quite a bit. My drivers side one had an oval hole and it caused a really annoying noise on rough roads. Luckily I found a decent spare and fitted it which has cured the noise.

The clunk you are hearing is probably the tapered end of the pin hitting one side of the hole as it closes, maybe your door has already dropped slightly. Over time that will cause the hole to wear oval.

A small dab of grease will help as well by the way, just not too much though as you will end up wearing it

Phil

[Owlsman]

Many thanks for your help, both of you.

You're right Phil (1), I was perhaps being a bit too optimistic!!

I've just come in from having a little 'play' this morning with both front doors and got them both closing quite nicely.....or at least as good as they're going to get I think. The only thing I did differently really was to loosen the screws securing the 'hole' bracket and then open and close the door a few times to allow the bracket to sort of 'find its own level'. I then tightened it up and was quite pleased with the end result.

When closed, the doors are nicely flush with the bodywork and with even gaps. They still certainly need a firm hand to close first time on the second catch but if I've got any neighbours on a night shift they should be able to sleep undisturbed now

[silloyd]

I don't have an issue with my passenger door, which closes easily with a gentle push, but my driver's door was similar to yours.

One way to help work out what needs adjusting in which direction is to place a piece of plasticine on the B pillar 'receiver' to try to work out where the door 'pin' is hitting.

After a lot of trial-and-error I got the driver's side to a reasonable state (still not as good as the passenger side though) by adding a couple of washers between the 'pin' plate and the door, which moved the pin horizontally by a mere 2-3mm but made all the difference. A more drastic method to amend the lateral adjustment would be to shim the hinges...but that would likely mess up all of your shut lines, so washers are the simplest.

Good luck!

[philthehill]

Adjust the door as the BMC factory door fettler did - use a piece of wood under the rear of the door and lift the door until you are satisfied with the fit.

[Owlsman]

Thanks for the tip about the dab of grease on the catches, Phil (2). Both front doors shut even better now.

I did go carefully with the grease...…...but I bet I'll still get stung for the dry-cleaning bill, the next time my wife gets in the car

[pgp001]

Yes you probably will...........Dont ask me how I know

Glad you got the doors shutting better.

Phil